Beach work made filly’s win possible

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33694, 18 November 1974, Page 8

Beach work made filly’s win possible

Princess aPtrice took a big step towards the Philip Morris Filly of the Year award with a thoroughly convincing victory in the second running of the New Zealand One Thousand Guineas at Riccarton on Saturday.

After four races in a series of nine Princess Patrice now leads with 22 points from Persuasian, which is on 14.25.

Princess Patrice's length; victory in Saturday’s classic; has made her a great bargain for three Aucklanders who purchased her in Southland as a yearling for $l5OO and two contingencies. One of the partners is the Avondale trainer, M. C. Conway, who .selected this halfsister to the good winner Charger while acting on a firm conviction that there was a bright future for the stock of Charicles.

Last week Mr Conway returned to Southland and arranged to lease Princess Patrice's two-year-old sister — a move that gave him no end of satisfaction after G. Phillips guided the attractive th r e e-year-old to a thoroughly convincing win in Saturday’s $12,000 race.

Conway’s partners in Prin-; cess Patrice are two Aucklanders, Mr D. A. Hagar, a solicitor, and Mr P. S. Wilson, a businessman who is at present in England. Beach training Conway believes that Princess Patrice’s victory would not have been possible if he had been unable to work her on the beach at New Brighton since her arrival from the North Island. In all her work the filly h?*s been in the hands of a 17-year-old Christchurch girl Sharron Allen. “Sharron did much to make all this possible,” Conway said after Saturday’s win.

; “She was with my stable; jfor some time in Auckland.; Then she decided to come; back to Christchurch and go- ; nursing, but I was able to! !per.suade her to come back: !to team up with us again! .two days before the Lowland; ! Stakes at Masterton. We 'prepared the filly for that ! race on the beach at Fox-! ton.” i Princess Patrice will continue to do much of her! I work on a beach between; I now and December 21, when ishe will contest the next! irace of the Philip Morris j series, the Eulogy Stakes at jAwapuni. Then will follow, ithe Royal Stakes at Ellenslie; ion January 2 the final day! of the Auckland Cup meeting. Cup prospect ; Conway is also-looking toi ithe Auckland Cup itself with! ! confidence. All going well he j ! will have Rangitoto in New I Zealand’s richest race, run; on January 1. He gently corrected a questioner when the talk : switched to Rangitoto on Saturday. “He’s not just an Auckland Cup hopeful —! he’s the Auckland Cup win- 1 ner,” Conway said with! some firmne.ss. The New Zealand One! Thousand Guineas spelt out; one encouraging message. | This was that the South, Island’s best fillies, Lynda | Mary, and Trelesse can fairly match the best from! the north. Lynda Mary and Trelesse,; . third and fourth repectivelyl on Saturday, covered more , ground than most of the others, but showed pluck ; under sustained pressure. ’ Lynda Mary, which wats ; only half a length from the runner-up Rosie’s Girl, had ! an immediate handicap by i missing the start slightly. The Two Thousand ‘ Guineas winner, Persuasian, was a battling fifth this time ’ after being given every 1 chance in the running. 1 Soliloquy, a stablemate of ’ Rasie’s Girl, was left with i the pacemaking, and faded : from the front end to finish : sixth.